A NEW leisure complex to “save” Basildon town centre has been approved.

The East Square masterplan includes a ten-screen Empire cinema and six restaurants built in place of Freedom House.

Basildon Council’s planning committee met on Tuesday night and granted permission for the project to begin.

It is expected to provide a major boost to the night time economy in the centre.

Chairman Carole Morris said: “Taking forward this project not only are we going to hopefully enhance our town centre by bringing in a night time economy, making the surrounding area more prosperous, but also some of our buildings are looking, to put it politely, tired.

“They will need money spent on them and this is the only way we can do it.

“There are a number of good reasons for taking this project forward.

“But the biggest one is that our town centre appears to be dying on its feet.

“We are reliably informed that this will help reverse that.”

The plans recently received a boost as Empire cinema signed on the dotted line committing to the project.

As part of the plans, Freedom House, which is registered as a heritage asset, will be demolished, as well as ten shops.

A large part of the debate on Tuesday night focussed on the loss of a heritage asset, weighed up against plans to drastically improve the area.

New guidelines, also released on Tuesday, allow councils to demolish heritage assets and redundant buildings, if they are no longer deemed viable.

Adele Brown, Basildon Labour party leader, said: “It is a clear decision we have to make tonight against a heritage asset and our need for economic development.

“The national planning policy framework was published and, apart from increasing housing numbers it gives us a clear steer of the decision we need to make. I think during this meeting we have heard some clear and convincing justification about what is needed.

“It is clear in order to to meet the requirements the framework now gives us to have a prosperous, vibrant and sustainable town centre, we need to make hard decisions.

“We are here to decide what we value most, economic development for Basildon town centre to make it a destination, a choice, somewhere that is prosperous and offers amenities, employment and regeneration.

“For me, I am fully in support of these plans.”

The council received a £10million Government grant for the scheme.